A reelected congressman is hoping that outgoing President Duterte will sign an amendatory law doubling the monthly pension of indigent senior citizens from P500 to P1,000 before the latter steps down from office at the end of the month.
Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte said this pro-elderly measure only needs Duterte’s signature as both the Senate and the House of Representatives last week approved a consolidated version of the bill for submission to Malacañang.
“Filipinos have an innate deep regard and respect for our elders. It is ingrained in our culture as well as reflected in our own Constitution where it is stated that it is familial duty to take care of our elderly,” Villafuerte said.
"Although the Filipino elderly are valued and respected for their wisdom and experiences, they still encounter challenges to their daily living because of their old age," he noted, thus the need for the pension hike.
Villafuerte pointed out that the Senate approved last May 30 Senate Bill (SB) 2506, which bats for an increase on the monthly pension of the elderly from P500 to P1,000.
The House then adopted the Senate-approved bill the day after on May 31 in order to do away with the bicameral conference committee (bicam) process that would have required both chambers to hold bicam talks to reconcile both versions and come up with a consolidated bill before the 18th Congress formally adjourned sine die last June 4.
Villafuerte said the consolidated bill provides for other options for the pension other than a cash payout, the transaction fee of which will no longer be charged to the beneficiary-seniors.
The final bill also transfers from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to the National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC) the job of distributing the monthly pension to the beneficiary-senior citizens, he said.
Villafuerte’s version of this proposal—House Bill (HB) 4650—was one of similar bills incorporated into the substitute bill (HB 9459) that the House approved on third and final reading last August 2, 2021.
This consolidated bill on an “Act Increasing the Social Pension of Indigent Senior Citizens and Appropriating Funds Therefor” seeks to amend Republic Act (RA) 7432 that provided for a universal social pension for senior citizens and RA 9994 that expanded the Senior Citizens Act. Of 2010.
President Duterte's six-year term ends on June 30.